Dundee boss Barry Smith: It's time to pay back everyone who kept this club alive

SMITH insists a win against rivals Dundee United can help repay part of what the club owes to everyone who dug deep to keep them afloat.

BARRY SMITH once watched World Cup legend Claudio Caniggia pull pints behind the bar of a Dundee boozer after a derby win.

For him, though, today’s not about the big names who put the club on the map.

It’s about the name of every person you’ll never have heard of who fought to keep them on it.

Smith bossed the club as a rookie through the dark days of their second administration, helping keep them together on the park amid financial meltdown and a 25-point penalty that nearly killed them.

But he insists they couldn’t have survived it without the men, women and children who raised the cash and stuck by them.

And as they prepare for their first home derby in the SPL in more than seven years he’ll be reminding his players of that – the same as he does every other week.

The 38-year-old said: “It’s great for the supporters to have a first competitive derby at home because they have waited a long time.

“It gives them a bit of payback for all the hard work they put in to keep the club alive.

“It was all hands to the pump in the darkest days. I think it worked both ways in that during administration the team went on a good run and the fans stuck behind us.

“There is a unique bond with the fans here, given the things that have happened.

“It’s been difficult for them because we didn’t have a great start but they’re still turning up in numbers. The players realise how important they are because I stress that before EVERY game.”

Smith is a here and now guy, not a man to dwell in the past. Ask him about his derby record or his best memories and he struggles to name one.

But the image of Argentina icon Caniggia working the bar is one that will never leave him.

He said: “It was at Tannadice, I can’t even recall the result (it was 2-0 to Dundee in November 2000) but Caniggia and Georgi Nemsadze scored.

“I don’t know if they knew what the derbies were all about but after that game Caniggia went out and was serving pints behind a bar in Dundee!

“A guy who had got to the World Cups Final but was here and was a gentleman.”

What Smith wouldn’t give for a repeat of that win today. And he insists the mistakes that cost Dundee in the 3-0 loss at Tannadice in August are being eradicated as they find their SPL feet.

He said: “In the first 20 minutes of the derby we did really well. At that stage, not just in that game, we were making mistakes and getting punished for them. We’re making less errors now and that helps because it’s not as easy to lose goals.

“We’ve now have had three or four games where we’re heading in the right direction.”

Smith is quick to admit, though, they have a distance to go before they can measure themselves against United’s recent record.

He said: “You have to give them credit for where they’ve been in the league the past few seasons because it’s hard to sustain that.

“They are on top because they have been in the SPL a lot longer than us but we want to stay in the league and build.”